"That free kick at the end should have been brought in in front of the goal,” - Curran

Shane Curran, the Carlow manager, was convinced his side should have had not one but two close range frees over the 70 minutes when Tipperary brought a player back illegally and left only two up front.

“What happened?” he said.

“The referee had a word with him. They missed it twice in the game. As a result it was a four-point swing. Two points for us and two points for them.” And what should have happened.” “The linesman should have let the referee know. That free kick at the end should have been brought in in front of the goal,” Curran said while going on to commend the Carlow performance.

“I thought we played exceptional football throughout. We scored 1-10 in the first half. 1-3 in the second half. We probably should have had a couple of more goals and two or three points. Sometimes we took the wrong decision,” he contended.

He admits Carlow didn’t drive home their superiority when in the ascendancy.

“Obviously the missed penalty kept them in it but the players were exceptional. They worked really hard. There were heroic performances all over the pitch. We will take the positives from it and we will take the learning from it.” Avoiding a loss in the opening game is always important. The squad will be in good spirits at the next training sessions. A lot done but more to do for sure.

“Going forward there is a lot to take from it. It is a drawn game. It is the first game under the new rules. I thought we adapted well to them. I thought we defended quite well, not withstanding a couple of things we can improve on,” stated the Carlow manager.

Mikey Bambrick, the Carlow captain, is a reluctant speaker. He lets his football do the talking but he accepted the invitation to represent the players before walking down the tunnel. He didn’t want to get embroiled in any controversy about this new game and suggested it might be a slow burn.

“I think all teams, referees are feeling their way through it. You know so much and you forget something. I think we are all on a learning journey. It definitely makes for a more exciting game. Tonight was at a far more faster pace. Look, we are going to get some calls but that is the way it is,” said the Old Leighlin man.

He did concede that Carlow might have had a case at the end when it was alleged Tipperary only had two players inside their own half when the home side had a late free.

“It is tough to referee it but the linesmen have to call it. Players jumping over the half-way line at the end of the game can be the difference between winning and losing. I am fairly sure it happened. That is a 30m free and that is the win,” he said.

Yet he was not making excuses. Carlow led by eight points at one stage and five in the final quarter. The new rules didn’t conspire against the home team when they failed to see out the game for the win.

“That is not why we drew. We drew because we didn’t play well enough in the second half. The rules are the rules and we just have to get used to it.”